Whether you are a brewer looking for a tool that allows you to calculate
a resulting water profile based on a source water profile and salt additions
or a brewing water expert who wants to figure out the amount of
slaked lime needed for optimal alkalinity precipitation, this tool has you
covered. It is designed to be simple and intuitive to use yet sufficiently
accurate in its implementation of the underlying chemistry.

If you are signed into Brewer's Friend, the system links the record to
your account, and only you may edit this record.
(Others may still view, but when they load and hit save, they will be issued a new record id.)

Reload:

Enter an existing Record ID and click the 'Reload' button to recall it.

The total water volume to be treated may be larger than mash and sparge water combined.

Mash water:

Sparge water:

Use different water sources for mash and sparge

Blend Waters

Water B Amount

l/gt/gal are absolute volumes.

Source Water:

Water report:

GH:

General hardness

KH:

Alkalinity, (carbonate hardness)

Calcium:

Ca+2

Magnesium:

Mg+2

Sodium:

Na+

Chloride:

Cl-

Sulfate:

SO4-2

Alkalinity As:

Bicarbonate
Alkalinity

Bicarbonate:

Alkalinity:

pH:

▼ show report

OverallWater:

Ca+2

Mg+2

Na+

Cl-

SO4-2

mash pH

Water Target Selection:

Target Water:

Description:

Ca+2

Mg+2

Na+

Cl-

SO4-2

HCO

ppm or mg/L

Ca+2

Mg+2

Na+

Cl-

SO4-2

HCO

Actual

Delta

Source Water B:

Water report:

GH:

General hardness

KH:

Alkalinity, (carbonate hardness)

Calcium:

Ca+2

Magnesium:

Mg+2

Sodium:

Na+

Chloride:

Cl-

Sulfate:

SO4-2

Alkalinity As:

Bicarbonate
Alkalinity

Bicarbonate:

Alkalinity:

pH:

▼ show report

OverallWater:

Ca+2

Mg+2

Na+

Cl-

SO4-2

mash pH

Salt Additions:

Salts:

Salts Added to Mash Only

↓ Lowers pH and ↑ Raises pH

Salts can be entered as g or mg/l. The latter assumes total volume
when mash and sparge are same waters and it assumes mash volume when they are different waters.

↓ Gypsum:

Ca+2 SO4• 2H2O

↓ Epsom Salt:

Mg+2 SO4• 7H2O

↓ Canning/Other Salt:

NaCl

↓ Calcium Chloride (dihydrate):

Ca+2 Cl2• 2H2O

↓ Calcium Chloride (anhydrous):

Ca+2 Cl2

↓ Magnesium Chloride:

Mg+2 Cl2• 6H2O

↑ Chalk:

Ca+2 CO3

↑ Baking Soda:

Na+ HCO3

↑ Slaked Lime:

Ca(OH)2

↑ Lye:

NaOH

OverallWater:

Ca+2

Mg+2

Na+

Cl-

SO4-2

mash pH

Boiling and Lime Softening:

Boil Water:

Boil Water

Boiling the water reduces alkalinity and precipitates chalk.
The chalk is assumed to remain in the water until the 'decant water' box is checked.

Precipitate CaCO3:

Precipitate CaCO3

When set, the water calculator will precipitate excess CaCO3 based on its solubility.
This is needed for slaked lime treatment to reduce alkalinity. When not set, slaked lime
will increase alkalinity, which may also be the intent.

Decant Water:

Decant Water

This is needed when lime or sodium hydroxide is added since the
calculator will have precipitated chalk in its model in that case.

What follows here is a detailed description of how to use and interprete each
section.
It should be noted that this is not a guide to brewing water and mash chemistry.
The user should have a basic understanding of brewing water chemistry.

Water Volumes

Use this section to
enter the water amount to be treated. Unless salts and acid are added
to mash water only all water treatment applies to the total water
volume. The total water volume might be larger than the combined mash
and sparge water volume. This is useful for water treatment which
requires removal of sediment (alkalinity precipitation through
boiling or slaked lime, for example).

The mash water
volume will be used for the mash pH prediction while the sparge
water volume is used for sparge water treatment.

It is also possible
to select a different water source for sparge water. This can be
useful for brewers who want to mash with their tap water and sparge
with reverse osmosis water. If ”Use different Water for mash and
sparge“ is checked a source water dialog for sparge water is shown.
In this case any non sparge water specific treatment will only apply to the
mash water

The source water can
also be blended with a different water source. If “Blend
Waters” is checked a field for the blending water amount is
shown and a source water dialog for Water B opens up. The amount of
blending water can be specified as % of water volume or absolute
volume in l, qt or gal. By default the blended water volume is the
total water volume. If ”Use different Water for mash and
sparge“ is checked only the mash water volume is considered for blending.
There is no support for blending different water sources to be used only as
sparge water

Source Water

For users with a Brewer's Friend account, water profiles can be configured here.
Even trial accounts benefit from this functionality.

By default only one
source water dialog is shown, but up to 3 dialogs can be displayed:
Mash Water A, Mash Water B and Sparge Water. A source water dialog
accepts either a full water report or simple GH & KH
measurements.

In a full water
report all 6 major brewing ions can be entered. Calcium and Magnesim
can be entered as ppm (same as mg/l) or hardness (ppm as CaCO3 or
dH). Sulfate can be entered as ppm or ppm as S (ppm as Sulfate). The
latter is how sulfate is reported on a Ward labs report.

Bicarbonate can be
specified as either alkalinity or bicarbonate.

By default a pH of 8
is assumed but if water pH is known it can and should also be
entered. An accurate source water pH slightly improves mash pH prediction.

If water report is
only entered as GH&KH (general hardness and alkalinity, the latter is
known as Karbonathärte in German, hence the abrevation KH) an
assumption about the relative amounts of calcium and magnesium is
made and the sodium, chloride and sulfate ions are left as zero.
Bicarbonate will be calculated from alkalinity and pH. Knowledge of
calcium, magnesium and alkalinity is sufficient for predicting mash pH

Once “Update
Calculations” is clicked a basic water report for the source water
is given and can be expanded. For those interested an advanced water report is
also available. Note that the information shown in the source water
reports only pertains to the source water that was specified. The
treated water before dough-in can be seen in the “Mash Water
Report Before Dough-In” section. The following is shown in any
basic water report:

3 cations (calcium,
magnesium and sodium)

4 anions (chloride,
sulfate, bicarbonate and carbonate)

ion balance is the difference between the sum of cations
and the sum on anions. If
the ion balance is significantly above or below 0 it is possible that not
all ions were
specified correctly and the user should check the water report. If
the water was entered as GH&KH it is usual for the ion balance
to be off since that test does not test for 3 of the 6 major
ions.

The advanced water report shows

general harness
(GH): a measure of the calcium and magnesium present in the water

temporary
hardness (GHt) represents the calcium and magnesium that
can be associated
with bicarbonate and carbonate ions. Water with high temporary
hardness responds well to alkalinity reduction through boiling.

permanent
hardness (GHp) is the difference between general and temporary
hardness

pH of the water

Alkalinity is the acid eqivalents it takes to lower the water’s
pH to 4.3. In brewing it is a measure of the water’s ability to raise mash pH.
The water calculator implements alkalinity based on its definition and as a result
distilled water with a pH of 7 has an Alkalinity of 2.5 ppm as CaCO3 since
that is how much acid is takes to lower its pH to 4.3

RA or Residual alkalinity is the water’s alkalinity that has not
been neutralized by the acidity created by the reaction between water’s
calcium and magnesium and the malt's phosphates. Kolbach defined residual alkalinity as
Alkalinity - calcium hardness / 3.5 - magnesium hardness / 7

pCO2 is the CO2
partial pressure that corresponds to the CO2 dissolved in the water
at 25 C (77 F). Surface waters tend to have a CO2 pressure close to
atmospheric CO2 pressure (0.00035 atm) while well water can have a
significantly higher CO2 pressure than that. Waters with higher
CO2 content also tend to have a high temporary hardness

CaCO3
(undissolved), the undissolved calcium carbonate content, will always
be 0 for source water analysis but may be non zero for the treated mash
water

Water Target Report

The Water Target Report Allows the users to
compare the overall water with a particular water profile. The
preloaded selection contains a number of historic and commonly used profiles
but the user can also enter an individual profile.
For users with a Brewer's Friend account, water profiles can be configured here.
Even trial accounts benefit from this functionality.

Once calculations are run the differences are shown. Up/down arrows
appear and the difference is shown in red when the difference is less than
-10 or greater than 10 mg/l

Ion Range Report:

Within recommended generalized brewing range.

Low, but not necessarily an issue.

Above recommended brewing range, but not harmful.

Harmful, do not brew at this level!

A low or high ion concentration is not necessarily a bad thing, such as the case of Pilsen water, where the target is practically diluted water, or the case of Burton on Trent where the sulfates are elevated.

If the calculator reports a harmful level, this means it is definitely harmful to the flavor of the beer, and quite possibly harmful to human health!

It should be noted
that historic water profiles are not necessarily the best water to
brew a classic style from that city since it is not known if the
brewers did any water treatment. A prime example is Munich
water which is well suited for Munich Dunkel but the wrong water for
Munich Helles.

Salt Additions

Use this section to
specify salt and hydroxide (lime and lye) additions to the water. The
additions will be considered for the total water volume
(“Salt Added to Mash Only” and “Different waters
for Mash and Sparge “ both cleared) or only for the mash water
volume (either “Salt Added to Mash Only” or “Different
waters for Mash and Sparge “ checked).

Each salt or hydroxide
can be entered as g or mg/l and once “Update Calculations”
is clicked an approximate tsp amount is shown to the right. There is
no tsp amount for Magnesium Chloride since it is commonly available as
fairly large flakes. If salts are entered as mg/l the gram amount of salt
is also shown. This is based on the applicable volume

Chalk (CaCO3) that is added to the water or is
precipitated from the water and not removed by decanting will only
contribute 1/2 of its alkalinity potential and calcium. This matches
experimental results with chalk and its effect on mash pH. The alkalinity
and calcium from undissolved chalk is used in the mash pH calculation
and in the Overall Water Report.

The hydroxides
slaked lime (pickling lime) and less frequently lye (sodium
hydroxide) can either be used to raise mash pH or precipitate
alkalinity. This behavior depends on the “Precipitate CaCO3”
check box in the “Boiling and Lime Softening” section. By
default this checkbox is cleared and the addition of hydroxides will
raise mash pH.

Boiling and Lime Softening

This is a section for advanced water treatment.

Boil water : when
checked the calculator takes the water after salt additions and
removes CO2 from the water until the CO2 pressure matches
atmospheric CO2 partial pressure. During this process calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) is precipitated according to the water’s calcium and
carbonate content and the solubility product of these ions

Precipitate CaCO3:
When checked the water calculator takes the post salt addition water
and precipitates calcium and carbonate as CaCO3 until the solubility
condition for these two ions is met. In contrast to boiling it does
not let any of the water's CO2 escape. This feature is intended
to be used to precipitate calcium carbonate after slaked lime has been
added to the water. It can also be used to check if a given water is
super saturated with calcium carbonate

Decant water: when
checked all undissolved calcium carbonate (chalk) will be removed from the water.
By default this box gets checked when “Boil Water” or
“Precipitate CaCO3” are checked. But the user can
un-check this box if that’s the intend.

Recommended slaked lime addition reports the amount of slaked
lime that should be needed to convert all the water's CO2,
carbonic acid and bicarbonate to carbonate. This provides guidance for
choosing the slaked lime amount that needs to be added for alkalinity
precipitation with slaked lime. Note that this is based on the water’s
ion composition after salts and hydroxides have been added. When slaked lime
has already been added to the water the amount displayed will be less. Due to the
chemistry involved the amount shown plus the amount of slaked lime
already added is not necessarily the same amount shown when no slaked lime
has been added

Boil message alerts
the user that alkalinity precipitation through boiling was limited by
the amount of available calcium. In the interest of a more complete
calcium carbonate precipitation and a sufficient amount of residual
calcium in the brewing water calcium salts like Calcium Chloride or
Gypsum should be added.

Acid additions

This section allows
the addition of an acid of choice to either all water ( “Acids
added to mash only” cleared) or only the mash water (“
Acids added to mash only” set). Sparge water acidification
is done in a different section. Due to the fact that acids are added to
the water after salts are added they will also be added to only the mash
water if “Salt Added to Mash Only” was set.

The user selects an
acid type, which populates a default for the acid strength, and then
enters the amount to be added. Among the selection of acids is also
CRS (Carbonate Reducing Solution) which is a mix of hydrochloric and
sulfuric acids. This mix, also sold as AMS3, is popular among UK home brewers.
A strength of 100% refers to the strength of this acid in the bottle.

When “Specify acid by target mash pH” is checked the user is able
to specify a target mash pH and the necessary amount of the selected acid is
calculated, displayed and applied to the mash. Note that this only works for
mash acid additions (not for additions to all water). It will also not work
if the current mash pH is lower than the target mash pH or no grist is specified.

This section also allows the
specification of acidulated malt. Since acidulated malt is not added
directly to the water before dough-in it only affects the calculated
mash pH and not the water parameters shown in the “Mash Water Before
Dough-In” section. All acid malt amounts specified here are in addition to
any acid malt that may be specified in the malt bill option in the grist section.
Acid malt is assumed to be Weyermann® Sauermalz which contains about 3% lactic
acid by weight.

Mash Water Report Before Dough-In

This is a simple report of the mash water composition. It considers all
additions that have been made to the mash water alone or all brewing
water. This is not the water report a user should compare against a
target water profile or evaluate for intended brewing water composition.
For this the “Overall Water Report” should be used.

See the Source Water section for a description
of the water parameters that are reported.

Sparge/Kettle Salt Additions

This is a section
where the user can specify any salt additions that should be
considered for the Overall Water Report but which don’t affect the
mash water. As a result these are salt additions for the sparge water
or salts added directly to the kettle. Since chalk, baking soda,
slaked lime and lye can raise the sparge pH they are not recommended
additions for sparge water or kettle.

Sparge Water Acidifiction

In order to
eliminate or reduce the sparge water’s ability to raise wort pH
during sparging some brewers lower their sparge water’s pH to ~5.4.
The amount needed can be calculated in this section by selecting an
acid.

If the user actually wants to acidify the sparge water with the given
amount of acid, the “Acidify Sparge Water” box should be
checked.

malt type,
which can be “base malt”, “crystal malt”,
“roasted malt”, “acidulated malt”, “DI water pH” or
“acidity”. The difference
between crystal and roasted malts is that crystal malts
malts have a hard kernel while roasted malts are generally much
darker and have a brittle kernel.“DI water pH” can be used for base
malts if the distilled water mash pH is known. “acidity” can be used for
specialty malts if their titratable acidity to a pH of 5.7 is known. These are the two
parameters that are estimated if only the malt’s color and type are known

Color rating of
the malt in Lovibond. The malt’s color, along with its type, will be
used to predict its pH parameters based on work published by Kai
Troester 1

Once the calculations were run the grist section also reports two mash pH
related grist parameters:

Grist DI water pH is the predicted mash pH when the grist
is mashed with distilled water

Grist pH Buffer is the amount of acid equivalents needed to
move 1 kg of the grist by 1 pH unit

Mash Report

This section shows the predicted mash pH and a few other results that
might be of interest.

Mash pH: the predicted mash pH. Even though 2 decimal points
are reported a brewer should expect an accuracy of about +/- 0.1 pH units.
A commonly accepted mash pH target is the range between 5.3 and 5.6.

Mash thickness
can be used to spot incorrect malt weight amounts or water volumes
by seeing an unecpectedly high or low mash thickness

pH delta caused by water and its treatment shows how much
the mash pH changes from the grist's DI water mash pH

effective water
residual alkalinity: depending on the current mash pH the pH
changing effect of the water's bicarbonate and carbonate content can
vary slightly. This is a result of the more realistic implementation
of the water’s carbonic acid system. This is only displayed for
educational purposes.

Effective
strength of weak acids: weak acids that were used for water and mash
treatment (like phosphoric or lactic acid) exhibit a change in their
effectiveness depending on the final mash pH. This is only displayed
for educational purposes.

Overall Water Report

This is the final
and most important water report. It considers all water treatments
done to both mash and sparge water. It effectively mixes the mash and sparge
water and displays the result.
This water report should be used to judge the effective ion
concentration of the major water ions. It also checks if these ions
are at acceptable or even harmful levels.

In addition to
reporting the ions it also reports the SO42-/Cl-
ratio, an indication of the beer's perceived bitterness as published by
John Palmer 2. Only at a combined Cl- + SO42-
level greater than 100 ppm should this ratio be seen as meaningful.

Total lactic acid as equivalent acidulated malt tallies up all
lactic acid that has been used in mash and sparge and reports is as an
equivalent of acidulated malt in the grist. It is recommend that
brewers keep this level under 5% to avoid a flavor impact from the
excessive lactate present in the final beer.

Legal Disclaimer: The Brewer's Friend Water Chemistry Calculator is for entertainment purposes and
should not be used for professional brewing.
Brew salts, acids, and bases should be handled with care, proper safety equipment, and a full
understanding of their properties.
No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is provided on the
information provided by this calculator.